Heart of the Swarm
by Hefster
Summary: The Xel'Naga artifact was activated and now the Zerg swarm seems wiped out. As Raynor hopes to find a transformed Kerrigan, the mysterious arrival of a blond man only raises more questions. SC2 Spoiler Alert - Rated-M for language
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Hello and welcome to a Starcraft 2 and Naruto X-over. This story jumped into my brain as I finished the Starcraft 2 campaign and if you are still trying to defeat the game, or plan on playing, I have to warn you about **major** **spoilers!**

In any case, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did while writing the story. Let me know what you all think of it.

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Heart of the Swarm

Meeting of Faiths

Prologue

Five shadowy human forms carefully entered a writhing living tunnel that belonged to the massive Zerg Hive, the base of operations for the Zerg Queen Kerrigan. The soft whirring and thumps of the Terrans' massive nuclear-powered combat suits echoed off the pulsating walls as they made their way to the Queen's birthing chambers.

Their guns were sweeping the area methodically from one darkened corner to the next as the soldiers moved deeper into the Hive. As the light from the entryway behind them shrunk smaller and smaller, the soldiers finally entered the chamber.

Uneasiness overcame the five figures as they moved forward. They had successfully fired off the ancient Xel'Naga device just as the small Terran ground force was about to be overrun by the Zergs. And the effect of the device was immediate: Every Zerg was instantly incinerated and an eerie calm had entered the volcanic battlefield that was Char.

None of the Terrans knew if this was just another small reprieve they had been able to buy, or if the device had actually killed every last Zerg on the planet as intended. Amongst the five soldiers, one secretly hoped that the device had also accomplished the one thing thought impossible. He was promised by Prince Valerian and his Möebius scientists that the alien device could remove the infestation of the Queen of Blades. And like a fool, Jim Raynor had clung to that slim chance of seeing the greatest enemy in the Koprulu sector, the Queen of Blades, returned to her former human self. A woman, strong and powerful, one he had fallen in love with years ago; one, he had lost to the treachery of the current self-proclaimed Emperor Arcturus Mengsk.

"_Kerrigan,"_ Jim Raynor whispered her name in his mind. _"I am coming for you Sarah."_

And now after hours of pointlessly waiting for another Zerg attack, these five Terrans were at the heart of the Hive. They stopped as one of the marines' raised his gauntlet and ordered a halt. The squad froze, rifles raised, ready for an attack – the common reaction to the signal they had just received. But it was not an ambush the soldier had stopped them for; slowly re raised his rifle to train his laser sight on something he had caught a glimpse of in the darkness. The light rested on a human form lying still in the mist that swept across the floor of the chamber.

The squad leader instantly moved forward, shoving the soldier out of the way. The mechanical hiss of his visor's release echoed through the room, and the brown eyes of Jim Raynor appeared. Carefully he knelt beside the form in front of him, shock and surprise playing across his face.

His heart rejoiced as his eyes scanned the naked form that was once the Queen of Blades. Kerrigan was no longer the twisted hybrid, part Zerg, part human, that she was transformed into four years ago. The ancient device had done as promised – for the most part. Kerrigan's skin was no longer the sickly greenish-brown, and her hands were returned to delicate fingers instead of grotesque claws. But her fiery red hair was gone; the leatherlike appendages that took its place remained on her head. Jim then noticed a faint outline of the Zerg carapace marking her pale flesh. He frowned, and then carefully bent down to scoop her up, softly calling her name, "Sarah."

At the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttered open, revealing an unusual and exotic blend of human and Zerg in her eyes. Jim found them to be breathtaking, and combined with her new hair and skin; she was a new and exciting beauty – one he knew he could continue to love just as he had loved her while she was the Queen of Blades.

Raynor was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard his longtime friend Tychus speak into his helmet mic, "Are you reading all this?"

"You have your orders Mr. Findlay. Carry them out," a dark voice that sounded so much like Emperor Mengsk responded. Tychus narrowed his eyes as he raised his rifle, the laser pointer aimed to the center of Kerrigan's forehead.

"Tychus," Raynor asked quietly with a hint of disgust in his voice. "What have you done?"

"I made a deal with the devil Jimmy," Tychus responded. "She dies. I go free."

"We all got our choices to make," Raynor replied cryptically as his hand slowly moved to the colt he had holstered on his right.

"Damn shame," Tychus responded and his trigger finger slowly squeezed.

Raynor instantly threw his combat suit in front of the coming shot and took the slug into his left shoulder. He spun with the impact of the shot and aggressively pulled his colt with him. In mere seconds, he straightened the revolver at his best friend and unleashed a single bullet into the open face shield of Findlay's helmet.

As the metal slug impacted Tychus's face, the massive man fell backwards in his combat suit. A gush of blood and brain fountained out from the impact wound.

"Son of a," one of the other soldiers shouted in surprise and whipped his rifle towards Raynor. Before he could fire a single shot, his fellow marines made sure he could not betray their leader; they riddled his body with bullets.

"Clear," one of the soldiers called and let his rifle drop. "Are you alright Sir?"

"Now I am," Raynor growled as he holstered his revolver and returned his attention to Kerrigan. She was now unconscious, passed out from exhaustion, but unharmed by the gunplay. "Let's get the hell out of here. I am sure Mengsk is going to nuke this planet the minute Tychus fails to report in."

"Aye Sir," the marine said again and instantly turned and started walking towards the exit.

"Sir?" the other soldier spoke up as his visor moved up into his round helmet. "Are you certain that we can trust her?"

Raynor looked at the sleeping face of his love as he stood up and cradled her in his arms like a bride. "Sarah is going to be just fine."

"If you believe so," the soldier responded not fully convinced and lowered his visor again and quickly followed his partner.

"I know so," Jim whispered as he looked at Kerrigan once more and quickly followed his two mercenaries.

A loud explosion at the Hive entrance forced him to look away from the woman in his arms. He focused on the entrance in time to the two remaining members of his squad incinerated by a laser blast that vaporized the tunnel opening.

"Mengsk," Raynor growled and immediately turned and ran deeper into the Hive, looking for an alternate exit. He knew that the massive Zerg structures could stand up to an orbital bombardment easily. Hell he had done it plenty of times himself from his flagship. As the lights on hi suit tore through the darkness, the mechanical drone of the motors and his own labored breathing were the only sounds he could hear. That was until multiple dull thuds high above him resounded through the living building. Unsure, he guessed that the Dominion ships in orbit had opted to flatten the structures with their massive batteries and he could only thank the fool that had ordered that tactical mistake. Nukes would have been a lot more efficient but he guessed the Dominion wasn't in a hurry to clean the Zerg homeworld.

He grunted in annoyance as he suddenly slipped on the living creep below his feet and cursed as he fell and slid on his side. Instinctively he tucked the unconscious Kerrigan closer to his chest and hoped he would come to a quick stop. And as faith decreed it, the ground suddenly opened up into a massive creep tumor and he was launched straight down the darkened abyss that was the tumor's capillary system. Closing his eyes, Raynor hoped the tumor would carry him far from the Hive and his hold on Kerrigan intensified as he desperately refused to give her up again.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" Jim screamed as he suddenly felt himself fly through the air as he was catapulted out of the creep tumor. A giant flame was hot on his heels and he could only have guessed the reason. The massive Hive had been nuked from orbit after all and the shockwave of the explosion had pushed the wall of fire into every possible opening and in return helped speed his escape from the Zerg structures.

Twisting in the air with Kerrigan still protectively held to his chest, Raynor was able to perform a graceful flip and crashed into the volcanic ground. His combat suit groaned in complaint at the extensive impact but Raynor himself was able to shrug it off. He immediately scanned the area and his eyes widened in surprise as he found himself standing miles away from the Hive cluster. He watched in awe as nuclear smoke columns rose angrily into the sky.

"This is Raynor," Jim spoke into the microphone of his combat suit. "Raynor to Hyperion… can you read?"

"This is Hyperion," Matt Horner's voice came over the helmet speakers and Jim let out a sigh of relief. "What can I do for you Sir?"

"Matt this is no time for following proper military etiquette," Jim chuckled. "Just get me off this forsaken heap of molten slag."

"Am I to take it that our brief Alliance with Prince Valerian has come to an immediate end?"

"What do you think?" Jim asked sarcastically. "Is dropping nukes to you a sign of open friendship?"

"No Sir it ain't," Matt replied jokingly. "A ride is on the way. Preparing the Hyperion to jump to Hyperspace…"

"Hurry up Matt," Jim added quickly. "We need to be out of the system the second the shuttle hits the landing deck. Understood?"

"Yes Sir. Your flagship will be ready upon your return."

"Excellent," Raynor replied and looked out over the volcanic landscape. "I will certainly not miss this planet."

"Jimmy?" Kerrigan's weak voice called out to him and his eyes drifted down to the fragile form in his arms and he wondered how he was going to explain this to Matt. "What happened Jimmy?"

"Everything is going to be alright Sarah," Jim responded as he continued walking. "We're just waiting for our pickup and then we're out of here."

"S-Something is coming Jimmy," Sarah spoke weakly and fell unconscious again.

"What?" Jim asked in a panic and immediately turned in a complete circle to scan the surrounding landscape.

"Jim," Matt's frantic voice suddenly screeched over his helmet speakers and began to cut in and out. "Massive energy signature appearing on radar… trajectory showing… oh god Jim get out of there. It's heading straight for your position. Dominion battle cruisers have turned and engaged the energy source but were wiped out… Fuck Jim do you copy? Get out of there! Run! Hide! Just start moving… shuttle is only a minute away."

"What the fuck," Raynor cursed as his eyes scanned the sky. He saw hundreds of Dominion battle cruisers patrolling the sky. Then somewhere high above him, a distant red spec appeared and came crashing down towards him. He watched the beam slice through a battlecruiser, cutting it open like a sardine box without even slowing down.

"Not funny at all," Jim spoke to himself as he tore his eyes away from the massive red energy sphere and started to run.

"I'll never make it," he cursed and tried to go faster.

Jim was shocked to feel an intense heat searing his back through the battle suit – a suit designed to withstand the thermal heat of a nuclear missile. He looked down at Kerrigan and saw frown. Her eyes suddenly opened and radiated with a power that he had seen in her before and for a second he thought that the Queen of Blades had reawaken.

"Stop!" Kerrigan ordered and her hand moved up to Raynor's face. "Jimmy stop! This is not a threat. I… I feel life within it. A life force I have never felt before, one immensely powerful and in so much pain," Kerrigan continued as if she was hallucinating. But Raynor didn't stop, so Kerrigan closed her eyes and wrapped themselves in a kinetic power shield that halted Jim's running.

"Damn Sarah! Stop this," Jim cursed as he looked at the woman in his arms. "I know how powerful you are but that thing… whatever it is, has destroyed battle cruisers as if they were toys. We can't stay here!"

"Look," Kerrigan said. "Turn around Jimmy and you'll see…"

Raynor sighed and gave up and slowly turned. His eyes widened in surprise as the red sphere was about to impact the planet. "Shit," Jim shouted and threw himself onto the ground and made sure Kerrigan was protected under his combat suit.

A violent explosion shook the ground and volcanoes all around them erupted with a new intensity. Raynor gulped in fear as he imagined being swallowed whole by new lava flows. He felt the powerful shockwave rush over his armor and through some miracle, or thanks to Kerrigan's energy shield, they had remained unscathed. As the last pebbles of debris finished raining down upon them, he slowly stood up and watched a massive cloud rise into the sky.

Ash was falling everywhere and Raynor looked at Kerrigan, "Now what?"

"Take me there," Sarah responded. "And hurry, we have to move quickly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Sarah responded. "Go!"

"I am right on it," Jim responded and immediately sprinted towards the impact zone with Kerrigan still in his arms.

"J-Jim," Matt's voice crackled alive in his helmet. "I am seeing your tracking beacon move on the map and I can't believe it… You lunatic… how the hell did you survive that?"

"Later Matt," Jim responded in strain as the numerous sprints began to take its toll. "How far is the transport away?"

"Should cross the ridgeline to your east any second now," Matt responded.

Jim looked and nodded, "I can see the medi-vac. Excellent work Matt," Jim said and continued running towards the crater. "How is the situation up there?"

"It's hell," Matt responded. "The Dominion is disorganized. We actually might get away unnoticed."

"Did you doubt me?" Jim had to ask his second in command of his Raiders.

"Not really," Matt replied and quickly shut the communication short. "I'll see you top side. Horner out!"

Raynor chuckled and shook his head and he could already hear the roaring scream of the medi-vac's engines as the giant shuttle closed in. He finally reached the crater edge and he froze as his eyes looked out over a mile wide crater.

"Holy," Jim uttered in awe.

"Down there," Sarah said and pointed.

Jim followed her direction and was speechless at what greeted his eyes. Down at the bottom of the crater, stood a creature he had never seen before. It looked like an animal in human form with nine tails angrily swishing back and forth. He gulped and turned his head towards Kerrigan questioningly, but she simply smiled.

"Look again Jimmy," Sarah said in a whisper.

And look he did. The creature began to pulse with energy, a spine-chilling howl that even an Ultralisk would run from filled the air. Jim shuddered as if someone had just stepped on his grave. The pained roar continued, but then changed into something… human. As the sound lost its terrifying power, the creature too began to change, becoming a slim young man with blond hair. The man screamed out in pain, then fell to his knees and dropped face down into the dirt. Once the man fell, he was able to see a second form lying on the ground behind him.

"Go," Kerrigan spurned him on. "They need your help."

"Right," Jim responded and without a thought, jumped into the crater and ran down the slope as fast as he could, while keeping a firm hold on Kerrigan in his arms.

And in mere seconds, Raynor arrived at the bottom of the massive crater and stopped next to the blond man. With the boot of his foot, Jim carefully rolled him over onto his back. The man's entire body was covered in a red blistering skin that looked like it had been burned from the inside out.

He swallowed and asked, "Will he be okay Sarah?"

"He will live," Kerrigan responded as her eyes studied the man. "He is the strange life force that I sensed. Do you know anything about this?"

"He could be one of Tosh's men," Raynor said absent mindedly. "A spectre," he added for Kerrigan.

"Unlikely," Kerrigan responded. "This man has no psychic abilities what so ever."

"S-Sakura," the man suddenly croaked in pain, startling Raynor and Kerrigan.

"Shit he is conscious," Jim said in surprise and his eyes went to the second person that was lying a few feet away from him.

He immediately could tell it was a woman based on the long pink hair and like the man, she was completely in the nude. Raynor saw that the woman was bleeding profoundly from numerous wounds and his eyes fell to the one in her stomach. Jim immediately pulled out his first aid kit, realizing that all help might have been too late for the strange woman.

"Sorry I have to put you down for a minute Sarah," Jim apologized.

"Hurry Jimmy," Sarah replied and looked from the pink haired woman to the blond man and back. "I feel a strong connection between the two… She needs to live."

"Right," Jim responded and didn't understand a word between the meanings behind Kerrigan's words. But if he had learned one thing from the mighty Protoss race and from fighting Kerrigan as she was the Queen of Blades, it was that cryptic explanations tended to be very important in the distant or near future.

"Thank god the medi-vac is almost here," Jim said as he rolled the pink haired woman onto her back and he winced as he saw that the woman was already lying in a pool of her own blood. "Shit," he cursed and he frantically jammed several hypo sprays into the forearm of the woman. His next step consisted of emptying a can of medical foam into her stomach wound where most of the blood was escaping from and he hoped the crude patch would hold long enough until a real medic would arrive. In that moment, Raynor heard the arrival of his medi-vac and immediately switched to the command channel.

"I need a medic right away. I have one critical, another I don't know, and the third… well I'll explain once we're on the Hyperion."

"I am already here Sir," a medic said as Raynor almost jumped in surprise as the white combat suit of a medic appeared next to him. "I'll take care of her and have her patched up in no time."

"She just received first aid but she needs a lot more," Raynor yelled over the voice of the medi-vac's engine. "Make sure that she doesn't die. This woman might be important to us later."

"Understood Sir," the medic snapped and with the help of another crew member hoisted the pink haired woman onto a stretcher and into the shuttle.

Jim immediately took Sarah into his arms again and watched as two more crew members loaded up the blond man and everyone was back inside the medi-vac.

"Jim we're ready the minute your shuttle docks," Matt's voice came over his helmet speakers again. "May I suggest you hurry? Dominion ships are closing in and even with the scientific breakthrough of our labs, even the Hyperion won't stand up long against half the Dominion fleet."

"On our way Matt," Raynor responded and saw the pilot of the shuttle urge for him to hurry. Raynor quickly climbed the crater walls and stepped into the shuttle doors and turned around one last time with Kerrigan in his arms and said, "I hope I'll never have to set eyes on this planet again."

And with those last words, the shuttle doors rose and the lone medi-vac that wore the paint scheme of Raynor's Raiders climbed into the sky and streaked for space.

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**A/N:** I feel the need to clear something up... This will **NOT** be a Naruto/Sakura or a Naruto/Kerrigan romantic story. At this point I haven't decided yet for any romantic interests for Naruto but **IF** he get's romantically involved it's going to be with someone from the Starcraft universe and **NOT** Sakura. Naruto and Sakura are close friends, teammates, etc... sure they might seem to get close to each other but there will never be anything romantically between the two. So just wait and see what I have planned for this story.

Anywho, I hope you all are as excited as I am.


	2. Awakening

**Review Responses: **I am going to try to address a few up here each chapter. I am interested to know how long I'll keep up with it. (lol)

**Tribernator:** Thank you and I hope to update as fast as humanly possible… which isn't really fast for me. Ask the fans of my other stories. I will try my best though.

**Selonianth Shinjitsu:** A challenge? Well I wish you the best of luck.

**Shihouin Shunshin:** I know I already replied to you via review reply but since you're not the only one that almost threw their keyboard through the screen… or hurled anything up. I'll point you to the Author Notes at the bottom of this chapter.

**Bleedndreamz:** You deserve to be the last addressee because your review was like a wall of text with spaces in between. In other words, I liked it. I agree with you that pairing Naruto up with Kerrigan is like a slap in the face to all Starcraft fans and Naruto fans. Essentially they are both the "main" characters. And with all this new ammunition we got from the SC2 campaign about Kerrigan's potential role… just mouthwatering in my opinion. Sadly Tychus was one of my favorite characters as well but sometimes one of the good guys needs to die.

**Everyone else I skipped:** Either you people received a direct review reply from me or there wasn't really anything worth replying to other than a simple "thank you and I hope you keep reading". So I say it now… Thanks for reading and I hope you all will return for more!

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**Heart of the Swarm**

**Awakening**

"Lindsey, has the Commander's shuttle docked yet?" Matt Horner yelled to one of his communication officers.

"Not yet Captain," the com officer responded in a hectic voice.

"Captain!" Another officer yelled over the noise of battle. "Multiple Dominion battlecruisers are charging their Yamato cannons. We can't hold out. We have to jump!"

"Not yet! Raynor will be here shortly," Matt yelled and punched a button on his command console.

"Swann! Swann come in," Matt screamed into his console. "I could really use that defense matrix you stole from that Dominion science vessel all those years ago."

"Working on it Matt," Rory Swann's gruff voice blared over the bridge speakers. "It's not easy doing multiple things at the same time… No you fool! I told you to rearm the Vikings and Wraiths and not the Banshees. Does this look like a ground battle to you? What the hell are we supposed to do with Banshees? They only attack ground targets. You got to be kidding me… God damn it, where is my freaking wrench?"

"Rory!" Matt yelled over the mic to get the head mechanics attention again. "What about my defense matrix?"

"What?" Swann yelled back in annoyance. "Can't you hear that I am a little busy here?"

"Rory you won't be busy if you don't get that shield up right now!" Matt Horner urged. "We have multiple battlecruisers closing in with their Yamatos charging."

Static was the only thing that came over the bridge speakers and was eventually replaced with shouts and curses. "Alright Horner… punch it! Let's find out if this works…"

"I sure hope so Swann," the captain of the Hyperion responded and turned towards his tactical officer. "Hit it the second the cruisers are in firing distance."

"Understood Sir!"

"And where the hell is the Commander's shuttle?"

"Exiting Char's atmosphere as we speak," Lindsey Shiba responded. "ETA two minutes."

"I think those are going to be the longest two minutes of my life," Matt answered in a soft whisper. He leaned forward onto his console as he scanned his officers on his bridge. "Damage report!"

"Decks four and five are venting atmosphere but the bulkheads are holding," a small short man yelled while looking up from his console. "Captain I have reports of incoming boarding shuttles."

Matt Horner recoiled for a second and frowned, "Why would the Dominion send in boarding shuttles when they were going to blow us out of the sky?"

"What if it's a precaution?" the officer offered but wasn't entirely convinced of it either.

"Precaution my ass," Horner muttered and rubbed his chin and kept his balance as the ship shook from an incoming detonation. "Regardless, inform our security forces of the entry points."

"Yes Sir!"

"_Jim where are you buddy?"_ Matt thought in controlled panic. Adrenaline raced through his system and he took a deep steadying breath before punching a code into his console.

"Tosh can you read me?"

"Aye man," the heavy Jamaican-laced voice responded.

"I am putting you in charge of the internal defenses. We have boarding shuttles heading our way," Horner said and shook his head in disbelief of trusting this man. "Don't make me regret this decision."

"My specters and I will deal with these lambs," Tosh responded and the line went dead.

"Tosh take prisoners," Matt yelled through the microphone but never received an answer. "Damn I hope I didn't just unleash a beast that I can't control."

The entire ship suddenly hummed with energy and Matt Horner's eyes snapped away from his console and looked at the massive viewscreen in front of him. "What the hell is going on? Answer me people!"

And as he was demanding information, he witnessed five dominion battlecruisers bare down on him. Their hammerhead-like front pulsed a dangerous red and seconds later, the built up energies were sent hurtling towards the Hyperion.

"Brace for impact," Horner shouted for the entire ship to hear. "Let's hope this defense matrix will hold up."

Next, Matt Horner found himself flying across the bridge from the violent impact. Gravity suddenly cut out and everyone who wasn't clinging for dear life to their consoles found themselves floating around uncontrollably.

"Yes! I love this fucking ship," Rory Swann's bellowing laugh screamed through the ship's intercom. "That's right old girl… show those dickheads who's the boss."

Matt Horner sighed and shook his head as a small smile adorned his face. "Rory I could kiss you for ensuring that the defense matrix would hold up."

"It did more than just hold up," Rory roared in laughter. "I don't know how but somehow it took the energy of the impacts and used it to charge our battery capacitors. We are fully recharged… There is a slight problem though."

"What is it?" Horner asked and was already cursing his bad luck.

"Well if we want to use the defense matrix again," Swann said while grunting as if he was lifting something heavy. "We have to shut it off now or else it'll overload the systems. On the bright side, artificial gravity would return."

"I knew it," Matt responded in resignation. "I have no luck… Alright shut it down Swann."

"Ha," Swann laughed as if Matt had just made a joke. "You're not out of luck Matt - the universe just hates you… Gravity back online in three… two… one… Hold on to your hats… now!"

And just as Swann's voice drifted over the speakers, gravity returned and as expected slammed everyone that was drifting through the air violently into the deck plates. Matt grunted as he landed on his shoulder and he felt the pain of a dislocation instantly. He groaned and held his arm protectively, "Charge our cannon… show the dominion that we still have teeth."

"Yes Sir," the weapons officer responded calmly and the well-known buzzing noise of a charging Yamato cannon reverberated through the deck plates.

Seconds later, Matt Horner watched a streak of red energy shooting out from his ship. It slammed into an already limping battlecruiser and vaporized it on contact. Grunting his acceptance, while speaking a short prayer for the fellow Terrans that were wiped out, Horner turned to his communication officer.

"What about the Commander?"

"I am right here Matt," Jim Raynor's voice drifted through the speakers. "Jump to hyperspace and get us out of here."

"Understood Sir," Matt responded and gave the orders to jump.

Within seconds of punching in the hyperspace coordinates, the Hyperion jumped away and left the Terran Dominion behind on Char. And as the mighty battlecruiser that once belonged to the Emperor himself raced through space, the battle aboard the ship was far from over. The few Dominion forces that had boarded the ship were now fighting for their lives against impossible odds - one corridor at a time.

Meanwhile, deep within the hangar bays of the Behemoth class battlecruiser, the boarding ramps to one of the shuttles lowered. Medics and engineers rushed towards the ship as the metal groaned and squeaked from the sudden temperature shift between the coldness of space and the warmth of the hangar.

"Get these two to the medical facilities right away," Jim Raynor ordered as he strolled down the shuttle ramp. He was quickly followed by the single medic and the shuttle crew as they carried the mysterious pink haired woman and the blond man on stretchers.

"I need them to live," Raynor added as more medics closed around the stretchers. "They get top priority over others. Understood?"

"Yes Commander," the shuttle's medic responded and immediately turned to the new medics that came in to assist.

"Good," Jim said and watched the medics with the stretchers disappear through one of the hangar doors. "I hope all of this won't be in vain."

"What will be in vain?" Matt Horner asked as he approached from behind with his arm in a sling.

"Nothing," Jim responded and turned to face his long-time friend and captain of his flagship. "Shouldn't you be on the bridge?"

"We are in hyperspace," Matt responded. "There isn't really much for me to do. Engineering crews are already working on patching up the ship as best they can. But I am sure we need to do a supply run soon in order to fix up the bigger damages that we sustained."

"What about boarding parties?" Jim asked as he nodded to his Captain. "I am sure Mengsk sent some. He never puts all his eggs into one basket."

"True," Matt responded. "But I am having Tosh and his friends look into that problem."

Raynor raised a single eyebrow, "You sent Tosh? I thought you didn't trust him…"

"Yeah, well… what can I say? I needed someone to deal with that issue. And he is capable," Matt added quickly in hopes of making a reasonable explanation.

"Relax Matt," Jim said as he chuckled. "I am sure Tosh will get it done."

"I did tell him to make prisoners," Matt responded and began to frown. "Where is Tychus?"

A sour look flashed across Jim's face and he pulled out a cigarette, "He won't be joining us anymore."

"I see," Matt said. "I am sorry Jim."

"I wish we could have done something for him," Raynor added as he took in a puff. "I saw it in his eyes… he had no choice in the matter. For him to live, he had to follow through with it. I swear Matt, Mengsk will pay for this."

"How?"

"I don't know yet," Jim responded as he exhaled and blew smoke out of his nose. "But I'll figure something out."

Soft footsteps suddenly echoed off the metal shuttle ramp and Matt's eyes widened in fear and surprise. Within the blink of an eye, Matt Horner had drawn his pistol and aimed it at the person that was slowly exiting the shuttle.

"What the hell is **she** doing here?" Matt spat in anger.

"Matt put down the gun," Raynor ordered coldly but when he saw that his friend wasn't listening, he stepped into the path of the gun. "Captain! Put down the gun. This is an order."

Matt's eyes briefly snapped over to Jim and reluctantly holstered his gun - Through clenched teeth he angrily hissed at his friend. "What are you doing Jim? You know what she did, so how can you justify bringing her here?"

"Look at her Matt," Jim responded hotly. "That isn't the same Kerrigan that you know. She is different, she is changed. She is no longer the Queen of Blades. Just like us, she is an outlaw. Someone that hates Mengsk even more than we do."

"I don't care," Matt hissed. "She killed billions of people. I don't know how many times she has tried to kill us."

"Yes she did," Jim responded. "I know that, she knows it. Don't you think that she hasn't suffered enough? She was twisted by the Zerg Overmind, Matt. She was turned into the Queen of Blades against her will because **we** abandoned her on Tarsonis. We all deserve second chances Matt and that Xel'Naga artifact gave it to her."

"Bullshit," Matt answered and glared at Kerrigan. She had stopped descending the shuttle ramp and stood wrapped in a blanket with her head held low in shame. "We don't know shit about that artifact. For all we know, she could have evolved in order to be able to resist the artifact better. She might just be using this human disguise as a trick to get closer to us, to you. She is going to betray us the minute she gets the chance. Can't you see it? She is using you to get away from Mengsk and his Dominion. I mean look at her. Signs of her being Zerg are right there in front of you!"

"Matt that's enough," Jim angrily spat. "When you voiced your opinion about Tychus and Tosh I told you that I would handle it. And I did… didn't I? I'll handle her Matt."

"Fine," Matt finally responded as the conflicts in his eyes were visible clear as day. "But she is not allowed to enter the bridge or the armory. In fact, she is not allowed to enter anything that holds military importance. No, scratch that… she may only go to the Cantina."

"She will go wherever she pleases," Jim responded. "She is not a prisoner aboard my ship. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Matt grinded and abruptly turned to walk away. "I have work to do. I'll… I'll leave you two alone. Hope your dick won't melt off when you fuck her."

"Matt!" Jim yelled after his friend as he watched him storm out of the hangar but waited futilely for a response.

"Back to work," Raynor yelled in anger as he stomped out his cigarette butt, realizing the eyes of every marine in the hangar were on him.

"Jimmy," Kerrigan's soft voice drifted into his ear. "I am sorry."

"Don't be," Jim answered roughly. "I just hope Matt is wrong about what he said." And for a brief moment Jim Raynor's eyes hardened as he looked at the former Queen of Blades next to him. "Because if this is all just an elaborate plan to destroy us Sarah… I'll swear, I'll put a bullet through you. That's a promise."

"I-I understand," Kerrigan responded not knowing what else to say. It was clear to her that she could deny everything but she herself had no clear grasp of what had happened after the artifact was activated. All she remembered was waking up in one of her hives, changed to a closer form that resembled her human old self. The billions of Zerg voices were still in her mind, yet somehow there was a barrier that filtered them out. That turned them into a mere whisper and no longer into the violent chattering that she knew. Her urge to destroy, to conquer, to kill was gone as well and instead a calm had replaced it.

For now, she had decided not to act. For now, she was going to be a selfish human and cherish the moment of clarity she was in and enjoy the company of the man that she had loved all these years. Even as the Queen of Blades, her love for Jim Raynor was never diminished. And every time he had escaped her claws, her love for him only intensified.

"Let's get you out of that suit of armor Jimmy," Kerrigan said. "And I would like to get some real clothes as well before we go to the medical center. I am sure you and everyone else would love for me to be subjected to some form of tests?"

"Right," Raynor responded and smiled. "I know you too well Sarah, you're interested in those two humans that literally fell from the sky."

Sarah chuckled, it was musical to him - god had he missed that voice. "You'll never cease to amaze me Jim Raynor."

Simultaneously in the medical center of the Hyperion, doctors and medics rushed back and forth and treated injured crew members in order of need. The doors suddenly rushed open and two stretchers were carried in.

"These two are top priority," the combat-suited medic yelled. "The Commander needs these two alive."

"What's wrong with them?" the head doctor yelled out over the noise of screaming patients.

"The man is a mystery doc," the medic responded as she pointed to one of the stretchers. "It looks like he was exposed to fire or maybe acid, yet he is still alive."

"Alive? What do you mean?" the doctor asked as she finally arrived and gasped as she looked at the blond man. "Oh my god… how... how is this is even possible?"

"Like I said doc, it's a mystery," the medic responded. "But you need to look at the woman. I stopped the bleeding but she needs a lot more work. I've never seen a wound like that," the medic said and lifted the cover to show a gaping hole in the stomach of the pink-haired woman. The edges of the hole were cauterized.

"Strange," the doctor said in thought as she pushed her glasses higher onto her nose. "Get her onto operating table three. I'll take care of her myself."

"What about the man?"

"I don't know," the doctor said helplessly. "He appears fine, but I have no explanation for how he got burned on his entire body and is still alive. His breathing is normal, a bit labored, which to be honest is not a surprise but otherwise I don't see anything wrong with him. Put him into sterile isolation and prepare skin grafts. Boy he is going to be some work later on."

"Right away doc," the medic responded. "I'll get out of the suit and come assist you right away with the woman."

"You do that," the doctor responded and was already walking away to prepare for the operation.

Hours later, the doctor came walking out of the medical facilities and stopped short as she was suddenly facing Jim Raynor. The cigarette she was placing into her mouth clung to her lower lip in surprise, "Commander?"

"How did it go Doc?"

"The woman will live," the doctor responded. "It was touch and go for a while but the nanobots were able to repair most of the damage. The most miraculous thing is… well I don't know how to explain it."

"Just say it Doc," Raynor said impatiently. "And what's the status of the man?"

"The man will have to wait," the doctor said. "We put him into sterile isolation and are preparing skin casts but it will take time to grow enough synth-skin for him."

"How long?"

"Several weeks," the doctor responded and sighed. "What a horrible day…"

"Doc what about the woman," Jim asked again. "You still hadn't finished informing me."

"Right, sorry. Well the woman is also a mystery in her own right." The doctor explained. "It looked like we were losing her because her intestines were damaged beyond repair and just as we were giving up and her heart failed, the woman started glowing and this diamond tattoo over her heart started pulsating…"

"Doc?" Raynor called out as the woman in front of him spaced out.

The woman blinked and rubbed her temples, "I am sorry Commander. Where did I leave off? Ah right, the glowing diamond tattoo… Well it glowed and suddenly her organs were repairing themselves. I've never seen anything like it. It was amazing, the cell count and cell division suddenly went through the roof and… and we watched as her intestines regrew and fixed the majority of the damage. As quickly as it started though, it stopped and all we could do was inject her with nanobots and wait for them to finish the little work that is still left."

"Her organs regrew? Like the Zerg?" A feminine voice next to Raynor asked and the doctor turned her head to look at the person.

The doctor's eyes widened in fear at the recognition and the cigarette finally fell out of her mouth, "So the rumors are actually true. The Queen of Blades is onboard the Hyperion."

Jim Raynor rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look Doc, I need you to run a test on Kerrigan. She has changed…"

"I can definitely see that," the doctor blurted out as she took in Kerrigan's new look. "Well mostly changed," she added as the doctor took in Kerrigan's leather-like appendages as hair and her exotic eyes.

"Is that a Zerg carapace outline on your skin?" The doctor suddenly asked with scientific knowledge and grabbed one of Kerrigan's arms and pulled it closer to her face to inspect it through her glasses. "Yes it is," she added shortly after and prodded at the skin with her fingers. "Amazing! It looks human, feels human, but if I actually use my nail to pinch it, it hardens as if it's conscious."

"Eh… thanks for the compliment," Kerrigan replied unsure of what to say. "Now about my question concerning the woman?"

"Right," the doctor drew out the word and looked at Raynor for confirmation. She received a small nod. "Yes, her recovery seemed Zerg-like but we didn't find any Zerg DNA in her. She is not infested. I hope that answers your curiosity… now about those tests?"

"I'll leave Sarah in your capable hands Doc," Raynor responded and slowly walked away. "Call me when your curiosity is filled Sarah. I'll be on the bridge."

"Right this way," the doctor said as the door to the medical facilities opened again.

"Certainly," Sarah responded and entered. She mentally sighed as the many heads turned towards her and she felt the hate and anger ebb off the people around her.

The doctor cleared her throat and looked at Kerrigan as she stood next to a chair. "Will you take a seat so that I can start the tests?"

"Only if I'll get to have a look at the woman," Kerrigan responded with a soft smile.

"The Commander seems to trust you," the doctor responded and shrugged her shoulders before answering with a predatory grin. "Who am I to say no to that request? Besides, if that woman has a new form of Zerg infestation within her… Who would know best than you?"

Kerrigan opted to sigh and shook her head as she took the seat that the doctor had indicated and without being asked, offered her right arm like a good patient.

In the meantime, Jim Raynor was walking through one of the starboard corridors on his way to the bridge when the lights in front and behind him suddenly dimmed and turned off completely. Standing still, his hand slowly edged towards his pistol but stopped when a laser pointer sprang alive in front of him and was aimed at his heart. He sighed in annoyance.

"So Mengsk has finally sent you to kill me," Raynor spoke up and looked straight ahead of him. "How does it feel to be the top assassin for a traitorous, no good for nothing dog Nova?"

"We meet again Jim Raynor," Nova's voice echoed of the metallic walls. Moments later, several feet in front of the outlaw, Mengsk's top Ghost turned off her cloaking field as she aimed her rifle at his heart. "I told you that we'd meet again after you helped those Specters escape from prison."

"Honestly I was hoping we wouldn't meet again," Jim responded calmly.

"Any last words?" Nova asked as she readied herself to shoot.

"Actually, nice of you to ask me," Jim said with a chuckle and opened his arms in a show of meaning no harm. "Would you care to join me?"

"Join you?" Nova's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why should I do that?"

"Well I have two answers for that one," Jim answered and smiled. "One would be that I know someone that could remove that re-socialization on you that makes you such an obedient lap dog to Mengsk. The second reason is simpler… you should have killed me while you had the chance."

"What?" Nova asked with a hint of amusement. "What makes you think that you'll get away from me alive? Even Tosh and his Specters are no match for me."

"That might be true," Jim answered and looked into Nova's eyes. "However, you are no match for a Protoss!"

Nova's eyes widened in surprise as she felt a presence appear behind her. She side stepped and tried to whirl her weapon around when suddenly an energy blade came to life that cut her rifle in two. And before she realized what happened, she felt the cold metal of a pistol on the back of her head.

"Give up Nova," Raynor said. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way…"

"Never!" Nova replied and tried to make her move as the world around her suddenly went pitch black.

"The hard way it is," Jim finished as he lowered his pistol. "Nice to see you again Zeratul."

"It is good to see you Jim Raynor," the Dark Templar spoke. "This was an entertaining hunt."

"So you have been tracking her for a while?" Jim asked as he looked at the unconscious Ghost at his feet. "By the way, what did you do to her?"

"Mind Blast," Zeratul responded as if that would satisfy the Terran's curiosity. "I see that you have accomplished the unimaginable Jim Raynor…"

Raynor chuckled, "Apparently I have a knack for doing that. And yes, Kerrigan is aboard my ship."

"Excellent," Zeratul responded and turned away. "I knew you could save her from the Dominion. Her survival is key to our victory against the Xel'Naga."

"Yes," Jim responded. "I saw your visions and they are disturbing."

"They are," Zeratul stated plainly and looked over his shoulder. "I also sense another powerful entity aboard this ship. I am curious Jim Raynor, what else have you found on Char?"

Jim sighed and rubbed his chin, "If only I knew."

"Then I suggest you unravel this mystery," Zeratul said and vanished. But not before his aged voice said, "You will find some answers at the planet where you crossed weapons with Executor Selendis."

"Haven? Why in god's name there?" Jim whispered in surprise as he remembered dropping off Dr. Ariel Henson and her people on the planet called Haven. Sighing, he scooped up the unconscious Ghost and as the lights turned back on, he headed straight for the prison cells to give Nova a new home.

**XXXXXX**

"Well everything checks out," the doctor said as she looked at a print out from the analysis the computer had done of Kerrigan's blood. "At least as far as I can tell…"

"Why so surprised doctor?" Sarah Kerrigan asked in amusement. "Did you expect a complete new undiscovered genome? I am human."

"Were human," the doctor added nonchalantly without thinking. Her eyes widened slightly as she registered what she had just said and cleared her throat in unease, "What I meant to say is that you are no longer entirely human. The most obvious signs would be your outer appearance but since you've been mentioning the genome… I'll have to say that I am impressed. Your genome is as far away from the human genome as it can get, yet at the same time it could be considered a close cousin to the human genome."

"Eh?" Kerrigan responded, clearly not understanding the strange attempt of an explanation from the doctor.

The doctor placed the charts onto the console and sighed as she turned her attention fully to Kerrigan. "I am going to be honest with you… I don't like you. What you did against your own race is unforgiveable and you should be put to justice. However, I also trust Commander Raynor's judgment. In a way, I think I can say that I even understand your hatred towards all of us. Being left behind by Mengsk, leaving you at the clutches of the Zerg, and then being twisted against your will into a monster…"

"Look," the doctor said after a brief pause to catch her thoughts. "I am sure the position you are in is not likeable but please understand that the people aboard this ship will not be as kind or understandable as I. Just be careful around some of them."

A small smile appeared on Kerrigan's face and the former Queen of Blades responded with a curt nod. "I appreciate the concern. For that I shall kill you quickly when I decide to become that monster again."

The doctor's mouth dropped as her eyes widened in fear and panic. And Kerrigan watched in amusement the many different human emotions played out across the doctor's face and couldn't help but chuckle. "Relax doctor. I was merely kidding."

Blinking like a cow, the doctor closed her mouth and pushed her glasses up her nose as a sign of irritation. "Sarah Kerrigan that is not funny. I swear," the doctor continued as her own smile appeared on her aged face. "If we had met in a different life, we might have been friends."

"Likewise," Kerrigan responded and slowly stood. Her head suddenly snapped towards a wall and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Is something the matter?" the doctor asked as she found Kerrigan's sudden reaction concerning.

"No it's nothing," Kerrigan finally responded after a few moments of keeping quiet. "With the help of an old friend, Jimmy was able to secure an interesting asset."

Kerrigan returned to face the doctor, "Tell me Doc… Who is Dr. Ariel Henson?"

"Dr. Henson?" The doctor repeated the name as her face scrunched up in thought. "Hmmm… I might be mistaken but I believe that was that young woman we helped fight off a Zerg infestation. We helped her and her people escape their planet and settled them on a planet near the edge of Protoss space called Haven. Why do you ask?"

"Oh it's nothing," Kerrigan replied.

"Dr. Henson?" one of the medical staff piped up. "Wasn't that the woman that had the hots for our Commander? I heard they actually… you know… did the horizontal shuffle."

"Is that so?" Kerrigan asked. The doctor wasn't sure but she could have sworn that Kerrigan's voice held a hint of jealousy.

"Sarah," the doctor said to get the woman's attention. "Didn't you want to have a look at that young woman that Commander Raynor brought back from Char?"

"Yes I'd be delighted," Kerrigan responded as if she had been waiting to be asked. "Lead the way doctor."

Within minutes, Kerrigan arrived at an isolated room with two marines standing guard outside the doors. The doctor waved the marines away and swiped her identity card through the reader and with a snap hiss, the doors slid apart to reveal a young woman with pink hair resting in a bed with numerous machines attached to her.

"Well, my shift was over hours ago and I don't get any younger. I'll have one of the medics come in to give you company and make sure that nothing happens to our patient," the doctor said as she let Kerrigan enter the room.

"Don't trust me doc?" Kerrigan asked with a smile as she walked to the bed and stopped next to the woman and studied the face.

"No," the doctor replied and turned around as the doors slid open. "Ah wonderful… um… Medic Ba is it?"

"Yes mam," the medic responded as she walked into the room only to freeze as her eyes fell upon Kerrigan.

"Excellent," the doctor replied and walked out the door. "Make sure nothing happens to the patient or to her. I'll be resting in my quarters."

"Mam?" the medic asked. "Are you sure this is safe? Are you sure that I am safe?"

The doctor chuckled, "You hear that Miss Kerrigan… this one believes you will kill us all."

"Relax," Kerrigan said while she was still studying the pinkette in front of her. "If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."

"There you have it," the doctor responded with a laugh as she shook her head. "Rest assured Medic Ba, Sarah Kerrigan will not eat you. Your orders are to observe, nothing more. Call me if something happens to the patient."

"Yes Mam," the medic responded uneasily and sat down in a chair at the corner of the room and watched Kerrigan uneasily.

Kerrigan was barely listening to the conversation between the doctor and the medic as she was concentrating on the woman in front of her. _"Fascinating,"_ Kerrigan thought as her hands hovered over the pink haired woman.

"_I am reading an immensely powerful energy within her,"_ Kerrigan thought and closed her eyes in concentration. _"I wonder if I can delve into her mind and find out where she comes from and whether there are more of her?"_

Concentrating, Kerrigan began to delve into the woman's mind and was surprised to find multiple barriers that were trying to prevent her from accessing the memory. However, ever since the Overmind had removed the restrictions that were placed upon her psychic abilities by nature, even the strongest mind barriers were child's play for her. The Protoss, a species that communicated strictly with their minds and were all psychics, were nothing more than a challenge. Even the most ancient or hardened Protoss weren't a challenge to her and yet, this simple human woman had some of the most sophisticated barriers that she had ever come across.

And as it was Kerrigan's nature, she took to the challenge and poured all her might together and smashed them against the barriers. Some she was able to break by brute force, while others' she found holes that she could use, while others again could be considered to have been alive. For every strategy Kerrigan used, the barrier would respond accordingly and prevent the former Queen of Blades from entering the mind. Only with trickery and drawing faints, was Kerrigan able to finally enter the memories of the woman and what she found made her question the principals of time and space.

**Entering Sakura's mindscape**

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she saw him being pierced by Sasuke's Sword of Kusanagi. She watched as Naruto spit up blood as the blond held on to Sasuke's sword arm.

"I told you Sasuke," Naruto coughed up more blood. "I told you that if we meet on the battlefield again… that we would both die. Now my friend, sayōnara !"

With those words, several clones appeared next to Naruto and Sasuke and immediately began to channel chakra for a Rasenshuriken.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted as his eyes flared alive with his Sharingan. "As if that little trick will kill me, you really are still an idiot."

"Naruto don't," Sakura screamed. Tears were running down her cheeks as she sprinted towards her two teammates. "Please stop it Naruto! Let me continue to fight Sasuke…"

Sasuke's head turned to look at the charging kunoichi and he broke out in crazed laughter. "As if Sakura… You can't even touch me. See…"

Sasuke said and raised his free arm and pointed it at Sakura. He channeled his lightning chakra to his arm and whispered, "Chidori Eisō."

A spear of lightning shot out of his hand and with the speed of light pierced Sakura through the stomach as his mad laughter continued. "You see Naruto, not even she will be able to save you. What makes you think your little attack will even damage me?"

"Trust me Sasuke," Naruto grunted as he held on to his arm. "You'll find out. Do it… Now!"

Naruto shouted to his clones as the distinct shriek of the Rasenshuriken announced its presence next to Naruto and Sasuke. The blond closed his eyes as he waited for the power of his clones' attack to impact him and in a brilliant light, Naruto felt Sasuke's arm get torn apart. Naruto felt his wind chakra cutting him apart and severing the connections between his cells and his chakra pathways. He flew through the air as the explosion sent him flying and all Naruto could do was smile as his eyes became heavy. He knew that Sasuke wasn't able to escape his attack and he couldn't think of a happier ending knowing that Konohagakure was safe from Sasuke's wrath.

The only regret he had was that he was unable to see Sakura one last time as his body slammed into the ground and bounced like a rag doll through the dirt. He came to rest in a heap of blood and tangled limbs and looked up into the blue sky above him. He had always thought that the day he would die, the sky would cry, yet somehow the sun was shining high above as if laughing at him.

"_Serves you right Uzumaki,"_ Naruto said to himself and closed his eyes. _"Good bye everyone… Have long and healthy lives."_

"N-Naruto," Sakura's weak voice came to him and tore him back to consciousness. "Don't give up Naruto."

"S-Sakura," Naruto croaked in pain and exhaustion. "What are you doing? Heal yourself?" He wanted to scream but could only manage to rasp a whisper as he saw the pinkette crawling towards him with a trail of blood revealing the path she had already dragged herself.

"You're dying Sakura," Naruto tried to yell again. "Heal yourself. Forget about me."

"No," Sakura responded angrily. "I am not useless. I can do this."

"Sakura!" Naruto screamed as he saw her collapse and lay still mere feet away from him. "Sakura, c'mon lift your head. Say something…" His own eyes were now tearing and blurring his vision. "You can't die Sakura-chan. Who is going to protect Konoha when I am gone?"

"**Insolent fool,"** the Kyuubi roared in Naruto's mind as Naruto's own heart began to slow down.

"Kyuubi," Naruto repeated as he appeared in front of the demon's cage. "Can you still access your chakra?"

"**Of course I can you foolish mortal,"** the mighty fox demon roared.

"Then give it to me!" Naruto demanded. "Give me everything… give me all of it!"

"**That will not save the pink vixen,"** the Kyuubi offered.

"I don't care," Naruto responded selfishly. "But it'll give me the energy to get her to Tsunade-baa-chan."

"**Very well,"** the Kyuubi said and smiled baring its massive teeth. **"One last battle is all I can ask for before death takes us both. Get ready boy, here comes my full power…"**

**XXXXXXX**

It was Kakashi that arrived first at the battlefield and his eyes grew wide in concern and worry as he saw all of his three students lying on the ground. He immediately went to Sakura and was relieved to find a weak pulse. The little medical jutsu skills that he knew were immediately summoned to his hands as he tried to repair the damage to Sakura's stomach wound but he knew that he had to wait for real medics to arrive.

"Hang in there Sakura," Kakashi spoke softly in hopes his student would hear him. "Help is on the way. Don't you dare die before I do."

And as Kakashi was pumping his chakra into Sakura and willing her flesh to mend itself, he failed to notice the red chakra cloak that was slowly enveloping Naruto's prone body mere feet away. A low rumble pulled Kakashi out of his concentration and his eyes went wide as he saw Naruto's body suddenly being lifted into the air by some magical force and the silver-haired Jonin cursed his luck.

"Shit the Kyuubi is breaking free," Kakashi whispered as he continued to pump chakra into Sakura.

Yet before Kakashi could do anything else, an inhuman roar escaped Naruto's throat and the air surrounding the battlefield suddenly grew heavy with malicious intent and chakra. Seconds later, a wave of red chakra pulsed out from Naruto and pushed Kakashi off his feet and toppled the Jonin over his student.

"Shit," Kakashi cursed again as he lay on top of Sakura, covering her as best as he could. "What am I going to do?"

Another roar announced the Kyuubi's coming and Kakashi's eyes went wide as he saw a human formed Kyuubi walk towards him. With every step that creature took, the ground shook and Kakashi's mind went a mile a minute as he realized that Naruto must have not given in to the Kyuubi completely as the demon fox was still in human form.

"Naruto you have to stop," Kakashi yelled to his nearing student. "If you don't stop Sakura will die. You don't want this? Do you?"

A loud roar was Kakashi's only response as Naruto suddenly disappeared from sight. A moment later, Kakashi found himself face to face with the Kyuubified Naruto and he gulped as he heard a deep throaty rumble escape his transformed student. And just as quickly as Naruto had appeared in front of him, Kakashi suddenly found himself and Sakura surrounded by a gigantic ball of red chakra. He watched how Naruto went through hand signs he had never seen before and before figuring out what was going on, he passed out from being smothered by the Kyuubi's heavy chakra.

**Exiting Sakura's mindscape**

Kerrigan suddenly recoiled and found herself blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the sudden bright light of the medical room. She groaned and took several steps backwards as she held her head in pain. She could feel her pulse rapidly pounding away on her skull as she tried to make sense of what she had discovered.

"Is-is everything alright?" the medic asked uneasily and was ready to run for her live in case the Queen of Blades would change her mind about not killing her.

"Yes," Kerrigan responded weakly as she still held her head from the impending headache. "I-I just need some time…"

Kerrigan closed her eyes again as she tried to sort through the memories she was able to discern from the pink-haired woman, whose name was Sakura. Eventually she opened her eyes again and studied the woman in the bed, "Who are you two? What are you?"

* * *

**A/N:** I bring you the next installment of this growing story. I hope you enjoy this and leave your wonderful reviews and comments. The reason Sakura is even considered in this story is because I need and wanted to bring one other person to the Starcraft Universe and I can't bring one and not bring the other. I am sure you guys already figured out whom.

I also have some good news and some bad news…

**Good News:** You won't have to deal with Sakura for more than two maybe three more chapters. I'll give you guys a hint… Starship Troopers!

**Bad News:** I had the next chapter already completely written… and I deleted it at like 4am several days ago because I was tired and had forgotten I had it saved in my "download" folder that I clear out every other day or two. *sigh*

Oh before I forget, you can watch the official campaign ending video here:  
www. youtube .com/watch?v=o6TJaHss_os (Don't forget to remove the spaces between www. and youtube .com)


	3. Understanding

Heart of the Swarm

Understanding

Chapter 2

"I see you've been busy Tosh," Raynor spoke as he entered the command deck of his battlecruiser. "But you missed the biggest fish out of them all," he finished with a smirk as he lid one of his cigars.

"Oh? And who slipped through my Specters' net?" Tosh asked in curiosity but the hint of anger still seeped through his thick Jamaican voice.

"Nova," Jim replied and was instantly rewarded with Tosh's eyes lighting up in an excitement.

"Mengsk's top death dealer has been captured? By you?" Tosh growled in laughter.

"Yup," Jim replied while taking a powerful puff that showed his satisfaction. "She currently resides in cell block Zeta-Charlie."

"She will make a fine addition to my Specters," Tosh replied as his right hand played with his golden ornate butterfly knife.

"I am sorry Tosh," Jim responded calmly as he leveled his stare upon the heavy man. "But I have other plans for our ghost visitor."

"What? You can't do that," Tosh yelled in his anger at refusal of receiving one of Mengsk's most powerful ghost operatives for his Spectre program. "We made a deal that every ghost will be turned over to me."

"We did," Jim agreed and rolled his cigar in between his thumb and index finger. "However, I require her services as a ghost and not as an indoctrinate brain washed Spectre."

"I will not stand for this," Tosh spat in fury and stormed out, leaving the command deck in the process.

Silence filled the deck as every abled pairs of eyes were locked onto Jim Raynor. Sighing, Jim turned to his best mate and captain of his ship. "Alright say it Matt, tell me that I will regret this at some point later on."

Matt Horner rubbed the back of his head and sighed in defeat as he leaned over the star charts in front of him. "There is no need," he finally let out softly and poked several buttons on the hologram console as he flew from star system to star systems that were in the Hyperion database. "Why tell you something that you already know? Besides, I am sure you'll handle it."

"Ouch!" Jim muttered in reply at Matt's stinging reference to their earlier confrontation within the hangar deck upon Jim's return from Char with a transformed Kerrigan. "Listen Matt… I…"

"Save it Jim," Horner stopped his commander and long-time friend. "Deep down, I can actually understand your feelings, at least a little but I still think that this is practically suicide. We can't trust her and I am sure we'll see her real self, return sooner or later.

"It was Zeratul that helped me in capturing Nova," Jim revealed as he wanted to change the topic in order to avoid another confrontation with his best friend. "He appeared pleased and spoke more cryptic warnings for the future."

"Is that so," Matt replied dryly as he looked at his commander. "He didn't by any chance mention where we should go to in order for repairs and supplies?"

"Haven," Jim replied with a smile as he watched Matt's shocked expression.

"You can't be serious!" Horner blurted out. "Do you really think that is a wise idea? Haven has nothing to offer, true the planet has plenty of resources that we can harvest and we should be able to get minor repairs out of the way but otherwise that jungle world is literally in the middle of nowhere. Besides, it's at the edge of Protoss space."

"I know," Jim answered and pulled up the coordinates to the Haven star system. His eyes briefly wandered towards the view screen and he watched the stars whisk by as they were traveling through hyperspace. "Zeratul suggest it and he has been correct so far… Captain, lay in a course to the Haven star system."

"Aye Sir!" Matt Horner replied and immediately turned to his subordinates. "Drop out of hyperspace and change the new course towards Protoss space and the planet Haven."

"I'll be in my quarters Matt," Jim said as he suddenly turned. "I am in some desperate need of some shut eye. Ping me if something happens."

"Will do," Matt replied and clasped his hands behind his back as he watched his Commander leave the bridge of the Terran battlecruiser Hyperion.

**XXXXX**

Kerrigan was running through the destroyed streets of New Gettysburg, her gun barrel stuttered another round of her vastly depleting ammo and watched in satisfaction another Zergling drop dead. The wind blew violently through the streets as plumes of smoke rose angrily into the sky and cast the entire city that had become a warzone into an ominous darkness.

"Boys what happened to that pick-up I had ordered?" She spoke into her microphone again as she tapped into the Brotherhood of Korhal network. "Mengsk do you copy? Arcturus?"

Unbeknownst to her, however, her allies were abandoning the planet with the full intention of leaving her behind. A screech and hectic chatter drew Kerrigan's attention away from her believed communication problem and she quickly peaked through a hole that was next to her head as she sat huddled against a partially destroyed concrete wall that once had been a barricade.

Her eyes widened as she witnessed a powerful Hydralisk crash through yet another barricade, its lethal spines already shooting at her cover. Kerrigan quickly dived out and heard the spines rip apart the concrete wall she had just been sitting behind. Rolling out of her dive, she raised her trusted ghost rifle and fired a quick burst of three rounds towards the Hydralisk.

Screeching in fury and pain, the large Zerg fighter spun around its axis as Kerrigan's .50 caliber bullet impacted the Zerg carapace until the final round silenced the Hydralisk altogether. Without hesitation, Kerrigan's blood started pumping as she released another round of controlled adrenaline into her blood stream. Her powerful legs, trained to perfection, offered her the speed and control to quickly vanish from her latest engagement with the Zerg.

Buildings rushed passed her as she ran for her life through the alleys and streets of New Gettysburg. Without realizing, her gun flared alive whenever a Zerg came too close and as she dodged through the streets, she repeatedly called for evacuation but was only met with further silence.

Running out of breath, she stopped once more and slumped against another barricade. She slammed her fist against the concrete in frustration as she put her right fingers against her ear once more in an attempt to hail her allies. "Damn it guys, where are you? It's getting very ugly down here."

Again, Kerrigan was disappointed and only received static over the network. Frantically flipping through the different command channels, she froze when she tabbed into a feed that made her blood freeze in her veins.

"_Damn it Arcturus!"_ Jim Raynor's angry voice drifted into Kerrigan's ears as she listened in on the verbal fight between her lover and the man that had freed her from the Dominion ghost program, one Arcturus Mengsk, leader of the Sons of Korhal. _"You can't do this. You can't leave her down there!"_

"_It is done Mr. Raynor,"_ Mengsk's gruff voice echoed over the communication channel. _"The fleet is pulling out, we have achieved our objectives, and our presence is no longer needed here."_

"_NO!"_ Raynor furiously yelled. _"I will not leave her down there!"_

"_You will do no such thing,"_ Mengsk barked back and Kerrigan was surprised at the ferocity and malice Mengsk's voice had turned to. _"I will have you flocked for disobeying my order. Pull back now Mr. Raynor!"_

"_In your dreams,"_ Raynor spat with all his venom in his voice and the line suddenly turned to static but not before Arcturus Mengsk's dark voice muttered.

"_It is already too late for her anyways. She has already been surrounded… good bye Kerrigan."_

"No," Kerrigan hushed as the line went dead with static. Violent screeching caused her to pull down her special ghost optical mask and her heart threatened to stop as she made out hundreds if not thousands of Zerg encircling her. She ripped the goggles off her face and stood in utter shock and defeat. Her feeling of betrayal turned to anger and her hands let go of her rifle as she looked skyward and tried to reach for the traitorous Mengsk with her limited mind but failed.

She let out a painful scream of white fury as she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable fate of being ripped apart by the Zerg around her. She was expecting the painful hot burning sensation of being sliced, mangled, and torn asunder any moment but when the chattering and screeching Zerg suddenly fell silent, she dared open her eyes and her anger turned to a terrified helplessness as she found herself nose to nose with a low rumbling Hydralisk.

She could feel the hot stench of rotten eggs brush over her as the Hydralisk exhaled in front of her and she tried to slowly step away, only to find herself surrounded by the smaller Zergling hounds. She suddenly found herself cast under a massive shadow and her head moved upwards and her eyes widened as she watched a massive flying Zerg unit that was an Overlord hover above her. His slimy tentacles lowered and coiled around her. She screamed in panic and fear, as she felt herself lift high into the sky by the alien tentacles and struggled to get free when some form of an organic pocket opened on the underside of the Overlord and swallowed her whole.

Kerrigan found herself being dragged into the inside of the Overlord and her screams of fear refused to die out as she felt the warm and slimy stench of the Overlord sac enclose her being. However, all her struggles turned fruitless as she felt her eyes suddenly grow heavy with slumber and the former Ghost fell asleep but not before an ancient yet devious voice spoke within her mind, **"Fear not my child for I am the Overmind. I have come for you and will reshape you in the image of my command and together, we will destroy all those that stand against my might, for **_**I**_** am Zerg."**

Kerrigan's eyes snapped open and held a panicked look as she awoke from her dream. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and her heart calmed as she realized that she was still in the medical room that was occupied by the mysterious pink haired woman.

Kerrigan stood from her chair and walked over towards one of the observation windows and looked at her reflection. Taking in her alien yet human appearance, she briefly closed her eyes and mentally sighed as she relived her nightmare again.

The door to the room hissed silently open and Jim Raynor stepped into the room and his eyes immediately fell upon her. She was able to see his reflection and watched as he walked towards her and came to a stop behind her back. Kerrigan studied his calm face that had aged tremendously over the past four years and his brown eyes held so much pain and self-doubt that made her question her own involvement in causing such pain to the one man she had truly loved.

"Are… are you alright?" Raynor softly asked her, which pulled her out her thoughts.

Surprised, she briefly studied his eyes in the reflection and saw genuine concern. She turned and offered a soft yet reserved smile, "I think I will be. I… I just had a," she paused thinking back at her nightmare and wondered how to explain it to him and wondered if deep in her subconscious she was blaming her for her fate into becoming the infamous Queen of Blades.

"Nightmare?" he offered her, which only surprised Kerrigan. Jim Raynor chuckled seeing the shocked expression and he sighed as he fingered with a cigar, "I've been having that nightmare for the past four years. It's been a constant reminder of my failure in protecting you Sarah. I am sorry, I… I should have never let you go down New Gettysburg by yourself. I failed you."

"How did you know? How did you know what I was dreaming?"

Jim chuckled uneasily, "Ever since you called out to me when you were captured and being turned by the Overmind, I've been able to see your dreams Sarah. I have no idea what this means but… I think I am the only one besides yourself that truly knows how much you had to suffer. It is also the reason why I could never kill you. It was because of these dreams that I knew that the real Sarah Kerrigan was still inside in that monster that she had become."

"Jimmy," Sarah choked and flung into him. Her hands clawed against his white cotton shirt as she pressed her face against his muscular chest. "T-thank you, thank you for believing in me Jimmy."

Sarah Kerrigan felt his arms slowly wrap around her delicate waist and felt and heard him inhale her scent that caused goose bumps to spread across her back and he whispered hoarsely into her ear, "For you, I would go straight into hell Sarah."

"Thank you," she responded and felt her eyes moisten as her thoughts swirled around her past and her future as she was debating what to do. The Zerg swarm was still chattering madly in her psyche but it no longer held the insane control it once had and finally Sarah Kerrigan had options she hadn't believed she had only days ago, when she was still carrying the grotesque form of the Queen of Blades.

A small cough pulled her out of her thoughts. The gentle loving embrace she was in was released and she felt as Jim Raynor turned partially away from her to see who had interrupted their private moment. Kerrigan eyed around his frame to see the doctor stand in the open doorway of the room holding an amused expression.

"I am sorry to be interrupting," the doctor responded mischievously. "But I do have a patient in this room and I would be interested to hear if dear Miss Kerrigan was able to gleam any information from our mysterious patient here."

Kerrigan slightly frowned, "How would you know that I _gleamed_ any information Doc?"

"Sarah, may I call you Sarah?" The doctor asked as she stepped into the room and let the door slide shut. After receiving a curt nod, the doctor continued as she walked to the bed in which the pink haired woman lay in. "I know you, or rather I know the type of person you are Sarah. I certainly don't know if you have always been the curious type but certainly ever since the Zerg influence has taken a hold of you, it is in your genes so to speak that you are a curious person. It probably stems from the need to seek out potential new genes into the Zerg gene pool to strengthen your race, so I simply assume that you have used your psychic abilities to gain information from our patient here. Now am I correct my dear?"

Seeing the all-knowing smile on the older woman's face, Kerrigan sighed loudly and simply offered a nod. "Indeed I have."

"Splendid. Now what have you learned?"

"Her name is Sakura and surprisingly they speak an ancient language that has died out on Earth millennia ago. I believe it is a derivative of the modern Japanese that is still being used. I am, however, not entirely sure."

"Interesting…" the doctor nodded in thought and was looking at her patient. "Do you believe they come from Earth then?"

"No I do not." Kerrigan responded and stepped closer to the bed as she studied the sleeping face. "From the little I could see, their technology level would be considered at stone age level compared to the currents standards. They also appear to possess some form of energy manipulation and she also has some crazy mental defenses, some I have never seen before."

"Very interesting," the doctor responded as she jotted down multiple notes on the medical file. "Would you hazard a guess to their origin and method of travel here?"

"Honestly," Sarah began as she thought about the interesting circumstances of their arrival, especially about the male one that is called Naruto and his special abilities. "Perhaps their race once came from Earth. At this point I would guess that they were moved from Earth to an unknown star system and experimented on. This certainly has the feeling of the Xel'Naga behind it."

"What kind of special abilities do they possess? What do you mean they possess the abilities to manipulate energies?" Jim Raynor cut in.

"They appear to be a warrior race," Kerrigan answered in thought. "At least that was the impression I received. And I have no idea how to explain their abilities. It is something straight out of a movie."

Raynor frowned as he studied the pink haired sleeping face, "Are they dangerous to us?"

"I doubt it," Sarah responded and was surprised to actually believe it. She also caught herself thinking that she would love to get their DNA and add it to the Zerg gene pool. Her eyes studied the face and narrowed in concentration as she tried to enter the woman's mind again. A sudden gasp escaped Kerrigan's lips as her right hand went up to rub her temples.

"What's wrong Sarah?" Jim asked in concern. "What did you see?"

Kerrigan shook her head and breathed heavily as she rubbed the sudden pain spike out of her head. "She is awake, has been awake for the entire time we've been talking about her. Listening and surprisingly… learning," Sarah finished in awe.

"Impossible," the doctor muttered and looked at all the machinery the woman was attached to. "The machines would have shown brain activities."

"Trust me doctor," Kerrigan began and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, "She is awake and aware."

"Sakura," Kerrigan spoke the woman's name. "We know that you are awake. Do not pretend."

"W-what did you tell her?" Jim asked Kerrigan as he was unable to understand the weird language Kerrigan had spoken in.

"I used her tongue to tell her that we are aware that she is awake and told her to stop pretending. I will ask her if she allows me to push our language into her brain, so it will be easier for us to communicate with her."

**XXXXX**

"_Sakura," an unknown voice called her name. "We know that you are awake. Do not pretend."_

Sakura's eyes snapped open and she had to immediately shut them again as her eyes were assaulted by bright white lights. Sakura was able to hear several people speak in a language she was not familiar with and as she slowly edged her eyes open, she carefully studied the three people that stood around her bed. Her eyes darted quickly from face to face and took in her surroundings. She immediately knew that she was in some kind of a hospital as she was able to identify the sterile smell that ironically came with all hospitals', however; the machinery she was hooked up to was as foreign as the language the three people were speaking.

"Where am I?" Sakura rasped and tried to fight from showing the panic that was clawing its way to the surface.

"Fear not," that unknown voice said against and Sakura was able to place a face to it. "You are safe here. We found you and the doctor," the woman that spoke was pointing to an older woman that wore a white uniform "was the one that operated on you and made sure that you would survive your wounds."

Sakura studied the alien woman – for that was the only way for her to describe the exotic looking woman. "Thank you for helping me," Sakura said and tried to sit up but was quickly pushed back down by the doctor, who was apparently scolding her in that foreign language Sakura didn't understand.

The alien woman chuckled, "the Doc requests for you to not move until she has been able to check your stomach wound. You must know," the woman stopped as she listened to the doctor say something to her. "The Doctor says that you almost died from your wounds, and most likely would have, if not for that strange tattoo that you have over your heart. She asks if you would be so kind as to explain that one?"

Sakura frowned as she studied the doctor and slowly shook her head in a definite negative. The alien looking woman got her attention again by calling her name.

"Sakura, I would like you to lower your mental defenses so that I may teach you our language. It will be a painful process but it would make things more convenient. You have to understand that besides myself, nobody else speaks your language and the only reason I can, is due to my… well it's mainly thanks to my condition and abilities."

"Define painful," Sakura questioned the woman and narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"You'll experience a pressure in your mind as the process happens and at most you'll suffer from a case of a really bad headache. The entire procedure is only going to take a few hours." The alien woman responded.

Sakura knew she had to agree; besides it would give her an advantage to being able to understand this foreign language. However, she still had reservations behind the woman's ability to teach a language such a way, let alone in such a short time. Yet if she were to go by the level of technology she was able to gleam from the room she was in, she wouldn't be too surprised if these people were highly technological advanced to her own village.

Finally nodding in agreement, Sakura closed her eyes and slowly lowered her mental defenses she had learned to create with the help of Tsunade and Ino. Sakura felt the soft touch of the woman's mind and was surprised how familiar it felt to the way Ino would enter Sakura's mindscape in order to have a private conversation with her best friend. And as Sakura felt herself relax, she was suddenly assaulted with images, words, and meanings and how they stood in comparison to her own language.

**XXXXX**

"She agreed for me to teach her our language," Kerrigan said as she pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down as she took one of Sakura's hands into her own. "This is going to take a few hours and she will most likely be exhausted and will require sleep. I suggest you check on your other patients' doctor. I will make sure someone will contact you the moment I am done with this woman."

"You do that," the doctor responded and quickly left the room.

"Are you going to be fine by yourself in here Sarah?" Jim asked cautiously.

Kerrigan smiled as she glimpsed at his surface thoughts that worried about her, while at the same time not wanting to give her the feeling of being helpless. "I'll be fine Jimmy. Nothing will happen to me or anyone else. Now why don't you go back to your bridge and ensure that we safely arrive at Haven."

A look of surprise crossed Jim's features, "How did you know we were en route to Haven?"

Sarah chuckled, "Jimmy I am… well was a Ghost. I knew when Zeratul helped you capture Nova Terra and I also know that you wish for me to remove her neural inhibitors and remove the re-soc she is under."

"And, will you?"

"Ask me again later," Sarah responded with a hint of a smirk. "Now get going."

"Sarah there is something else," Jim said as he had already turned and walked towards the door but had not hit the button to let the door slide into the wall. His voice was heavy with remorse but also held a hint of fear and Sarah gave him her full attention.

"What is it Jimmy? Just say it."

"It is… it is about your current situation, appearance… damn it Sarah it's about everything. These past four years, you… we… I don't know Sarah. Are you still you? Or are you the Queen of Blades? What happened to you Sarah?"

Sarah Kerrigan knew that this conversation was bound to happen but had secretly hoped that perhaps she and Jim could skip it. She sighed and lowered her head in thought. "Jimmy… Jim! I don't think I have answers for you, at least not those that you would like to hear."

She briefly paused as she collected her thoughts but was pulled away from them when she heard Jim's pained voice, "I see."

"Jim wait," Sarah quickly called and was glad that his hand hovered over the door button but had not yet activated it. She quickly got up from the chair she had occupied and approached him. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and nudged him to turn around. "Jim, I am Sarah Kerrigan but I am also the Queen of Blades. Jim, look at me," she said as his pained eyes briefly studied her alien features but he was unable to make eye contact with her. "Whatever has been between us, it was wonderful, it was pure bliss. But so much has happened ever since that day on New Gettysburg. I have changed Jimmy, for better or for worse I do not know. A few days ago, I would have probably killed you but now… I am confused Jim. I no longer have the grotesque features of the Queen of Blades but deep down, I can still feel that beast within me. She is as much a part of me as is Sarah Kerrigan, the Ghost that you fell in love with. Sarah Kerrigan and the Queen of Blades are one and the same. Do you understand? The Sarah in me still loves you, while the Queen of Blades wants to kill you for betraying her on New Gettysburg; however, even the Queen of Blades has feelings for you Jim Raynor. Not necessarily those of love but they are a form of lust, a lust that stems from Sarah Kerrigan's love and your uncanny ability to escape from practically impossible situations."

Sarah paused as she studied Jim Raynor's face and she closed her eyes as she laid her head against his chest. "I don't think I was completely aware of all of this until just now but I love you Jim Raynor. I always have and always will but I can still hear the Zerg swarm in my mind. I can still hear my children communicate with themselves and with my queens that I have left in charge. I can feel the Swarms confusion in having lost contact with their Queen, their mother. I can feel my own daughters' rebel against my command because I am currently refusing to communicate with my children. Jimmy, I fear, I fear that our time together will be limited. I will have to return to the Swarm, I have to take back control of my Brood. The Zerg DNA within me is too powerful to ignore the call to dominate and control my children but know this Jim Raynor, I will always love you and your sacrifice on Char has given me the options of walking a different path from the one I had been walking on before. I no longer see a path of utter destruction in front of me, instead I see one of revenge but only against Mengsk and I wish and hope that you are able to stand aside this time and let me do what I must."

"Sarah you know I cannot," Jim responded as his arms had pulled her closer to him. "You know that the Zerg swarm needs to be contained."

"W-what if I promise you that I will keep civilian casualties to a minimum?"

"Don't promise something that we both know is impossible," Jim responded gently. He pulled her face up and lowered his own to hers and they shared a brief passionate kiss.

"Know this Sarah, I will wait for you and I will always stand in your way when I have to in order to protect the innocent. Zeratul had a vision, one he had shared with me about the return of the Xel'Naga. Zeratul made sure that I understood that the war against the Xel'Naga cannot be won without the combined forces of the Terran, Protoss, and the Zerg. Only together Sarah, do we stand a chance against the Xel'Naga. I will put my life into your hands and I will love you, no matter who you are. Now do what you had planned to do with our guest and we can talk some more after."

Sarah stood in the middle of the room for several seconds, her thoughts still whirling around the kiss she had shared with Jim Raynor, as well as her revelations behind her changes. She had been unaware of most of the things she had just tried to explain to Jim but as she opened up to him, she knew that every word she had said were true and unavoidable. The brief glimpse she had received from Jim of what Zeratul had discovered and shared with him gave her even more to ponder when she would return to her rightful place as the Queen of Blades but one thing she knew for certain and that was that she would never give up on her man.

"I promise you Jimmy," Sarah whispered to the empty air. "I promise you that when I return to being the Queen of Blades that I will ensure that Mengsk will suffer a quick death. Once I have accomplished that, I hope you will join me as I take the Zerg swarm far away from this sector in space."


End file.
